Where the tropical rainforests are, and what they are like

Overview

Where the Amazon, Congo Basin, Central American, Madagascan, South East Asian and Australasian rainforests lie, why rainforests grow near the Equator, the rainforest climate, its layers from the emergents down to the shrub layer, and how drip tips and buttress roots suit trees to heavy rain and thin soils.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Where is the Amazon rainforest?

   Model answer

   In South America, filling the basin of the River Amazon across Brazil, Peru, Colombia and their neighbours, and it is the largest rainforest on Earth.

2. 2

   Which is the second largest area of tropical rainforest in the world, and where does it lie?

   Model answer

   The rainforest of the Congo River Basin, in central Africa.

3. 3

   Where is the Central American rainforest found?

   Model answer

   On the narrow strip of land joining North and South America, through countries such as Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.

4. 4

   Which large island off the east coast of Africa carries its own tropical rainforest?

   Model answer

   Madagascar, whose eastern side holds rainforest full of species found nowhere else in the world.

5. 5

   Where are the South East Asian rainforests?

   Model answer

   Spread across the islands and peninsulas of Indonesia, Malaysia and Borneo.

6. 6

   Where is rainforest found in the Australasian region?

   Model answer

   Along the tropical north-eastern coast of Australia in Queensland, and across the island of New Guinea.

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